Nuclear technology and (de)politicising memories of nuclear violence in postcolonial South Korea (1945–1975)

How did South Korean discourses on nuclear technology politicise and depoliticise collective memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings against ethnic Koreans? While studies on traumas and collective memories of nuclear violence have shown various ways of (de)politicising memories of nuclear violence, they often overlook the broader role of nuclear technology in it. This article addresses that gap by reframing nuclearity as material, symbolic and affective configurations of what is considered nuclear. I argue that collective memories of nuclear violence in South Korea were politicised and depoliticised by material, symbolic and affective nuclearity through four evolving modes – moral justification, technocratic silence, justice claim and foreign policy use – across three periods: 1945–1953, 1954–1963 and 1964–1975. While the first two periods were dominated by depoliticisation through moral justification and technocratic silence, the final period saw emergent politicisation of justice claim and foreign policy use, albeit constrained by depoliticising forces. This argument is demonstrated through discourse tracing a total of 488 archival documents, including South Korean legislative and administrative records, media reports and the survivor group’s publications. The article contributes to collective memory and trauma studies by highlighting the role of weapons and technology in constituting and silencing memories of mass violence.